Web scheduling for simple projects: Part 2 - Reduced time to

delivery

In part 1 of this series, I described the need for Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management of simple
projects. Specifically, I described the ability to adapt P6 EPPM and its web user interface for the
purpose. Also, in that post, I explained some of the project management problems that small projects
face, and listed out specific challenges that cost real money. Finally, I provided a sample business
background that Ill use in this and following posts as a basis for a simple business case.
In this posting, I dive into one of the three specific use cases I suggested, which is reduced time to
project delivery or in other words, improved time to benefits delivery.

Managing small projects with an Enterprise Project & Portfolio

Management system
Using the P6 web user interface, all of an enterprises projects (hundreds or thousands of them) can be
provided a simple project planning and execution management system. The projects can each make
use of templates to handle things as simple as a one-line plan that is easy to progress and track. The
templates could also include simple multi-line plans which can be easily added to with WBS templates
just like building blocks. Additionally, the templates could be standard types of projects that are
repeated time and time again.

As the projects are planned and executed, senior project managers can have visibility to the projects so
that they can provide oversight and help to the project teams. This helps to bring these projects in ontime.
All of the projects exist within the P6 EPPM database, allowing real-time visibility to the projects to
stakeholders, leadership, and executives. For example, without a true enterprise project and portfolio
management system, a Project Management Office spends time trying to get status updates from
hundreds of active projects, and then loads those into a spreadsheet so that status can be compiled
every monthly and always with the apprehensive Yes, thats as accurate as I can get from the data I
have available, since I couldnt find the right people to ask On the other hand, with true EPPM, the
PMO can concentrate on real-time information that helps them to quickly find hot-spots that need
their attention. They can focus on these problem areas and help Project Managers resolve problems to
bring projects in on-time, on-budget, and on-scope.

A quick business case for reference:

First of all, lets say that a good EPPM supported by business processes can eliminate the cost of
compiling project information into a spreadsheet. In a business with 500 projects a year, this
might represent a team of 30-50 full-time equivalent people collecting information (including
PMO team members, Project Managers, Project Engineers, Project Accountants, etc.). With
EPPM, that is eliminated. Those people can be put to value-added work of finding and fixing
problems (i.e. managing projects). The opportunity cost value of that is approximately 30 FTE x

$100k = $3,000,000!
That $3 million is just a small savings relative to the savings you can make on improving project
performance. By managing projects and delivering them sooner, you will dramatically increase
your Return on Investment. For example, if the 5-year ROI on a project is 10%, and if we use the
numbers from the projects above ($3 million project), the project needs to return approximately
$1.3 million in benefits every year. Thats $25,000 every week. If every project is delayed 20%
in time*, and the average project is 6 months long, then you delay an average of about 5 weeks of
benefits. That is $125,000 in benefits per project. Multiplied by 500 projects, and now we are
talking about $62 million in delayed or lost benefits. By using an EPPM to manage these small
projects you will instantly improve on your project delivery simply through accountability. If
this can even improve delivery value by a quarter, you suddenly will find an additional
$15,000,000 in your companys wallet.
So, thats $18 million in improved performance. You can argue that number down a long, long
way but you will still have an impressive business case and rationale for proceeding with a P6 EPPM
implementation, using the easy web UI, for small projects.
--------------* Time delays on projects. I couldnt find a lot of information on time delays. Most information is
anecdotal about time delays, and then focus on the increased costs of projects. A study by Great
Britains National Audit Office, called The Major Projects Report 2009: Report by the Comptroller
and Auditor showed an average of 26% increase in total expected timescale of a set of studied defence
projects. Similar reports by this organization across years appear to show similar results.
--------------Quick-link to this series:
Introduction: Web scheduling for simple projects with P6 EPPM
EPPM Saving #1: Small Projects / Operations Projects / Sustaining Projects
EPPM Saving #2: Contractors
EPPM Saving #3: Executives (Coming soon)
--------------Quick-link to some of my related posts:
Risk management to reduce and eliminate unexpected events,
Issue management to increase projects successes,
Steps to add granular details to your activities and simplify status updates,
Document management to increase the document collaboration and value

--------------Full disclosure Im an Oracle Primavera Solutions Consultant. I educate customers about Primavera
products and recommend Oracle and Primavera solutions for them.